


nothing can keep me from loving you

by esnoyuuutsu



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A3! Play Characters, Alcohol, Blood, M/M, Multi, Play: Nocturnality (A3!), Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27651568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esnoyuuutsu/pseuds/esnoyuuutsu
Summary: Nonomiya is a man of common sense and reason. Unfortunately, he finds that truth is often stranger than fiction when his quiet life is disrupted by forces far out of his control.// noct fic written for encore zine!
Relationships: Arisugawa Homare/Mikage Hisoka, Arisugawa Homare/Takatoo Tasuku, Franz & Nonomiya (A3!), Franz/Kuto Reo (A3!), Mikage Hisoka/Yukishiro Azuma, Nonomiya/Seo Kota (A3!), Takatoo Tasuku/Yukishiro Azuma
Kudos: 35
Collections: Encore! Zine





	nothing can keep me from loving you

**Author's Note:**

> hello folks the sales for encore zine have long ended so i'm allowed to post this now! thank you to everyone who supported it, i hope u enjoyed the fics, and to people who couldn't catch it, here's mine!!
> 
> recommended listening (?): [not alone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M07RcLT_TDE), which is where i got the title, and [doing this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MTJCRYVTo4), which i just think is hysterical.
> 
> everyone shown is their play character, with guysan as nishida keito, another coworker of nono and kota

Nonomiya would’ve liked to pretend the past few days didn’t happen. He was a sensible man—potential yakuza and mysterious disappearances were absolutely not up his alley—and if he could’ve acted like nothing happened, he would’ve.

But that would mean ignoring the way Nonomiya’s heart would race—and not in the fun way—every time Kota was even just a little late in the mornings, and how Kota would stare forlornly out the window when they were on break, or out drinking, or even just at his feet when they would walk home together.

Kota worried him, for sure. Someone so kind was only going to be taken advantage of, and clearly, judging from how upset Kota was, his freeloader ex-roommate had done exactly that. At least, that was what he thought happened. The truth was, Kota hadn’t spoken to him about what had—all Nonomiya did was watch Kota sob about Reo into a jacket, too afraid of getting rejected if he tried to hold him in his arms, no matter how desperately he wanted to after thinking Kota was dead.

After that, Kota hadn’t mentioned it at all.

Reo...Nonomiya had only seen him once, but even then something already felt off. He’d said Reo looked like he might’ve been involved in some secret organisation, but more than anything, he seemed as if he just didn’t belong somewhere so...normal. He and his even more suspicious-looking one-eyed friend, standing there by the side of the road, when they looked as if they stepped out of some old-fashioned fantasy illustration? It felt wrong.

Of course, he knew there was a more logical reason for his suspicion. It was a reason he’d rather not consider—the pit of jealousy in the bottom of his stomach churning every time Kota would space out, surely thinking about the stray he’d picked up—he didn’t want to speculate about what they really were to each other. As if Nonomiya had thought it into existence, Kota was staring into the bottom of his glass, silently swirling the drink around.

“Seo.”  _ Please look at me. _ “Seo, anyone in there?”

“...Oh. Sorry, Nonomiya.” Kota blinked, downing the rest of his drink. “I was just...thinking.”

“Sure. You’ve been really out of it ever since...you know.”

“Yeah. Sorry again.”

“No, no, I get it.” So he said, but Nonomiya averted his eyes. “He just vanishes on you out of nowhere, without even saying goodbye? I can’t even imagine what that’d be like, but you...probably miss him, right?”

Kota nodded, his expression softening, turning Nonomiya’s heart to butter on a hot pan the second he looked back.  _ Why haven’t I ever seen you like that before? _

“What…”  _...was he to you _ , Nonomiya thought to ask, but sometimes it’s better not to ask questions you already know the answer to. “...else do you want to get. On me...though I’m just as broke as you are, so.”

Even when they’d spend time together, Kota was never really there, but just being around was the best that Nonomiya could do.

God, he was such a coward.

* * *

Nonomiya ended up drinking for a while on his own after Kota decided not to walk home together, and fool that he is, Nonomiya saw him off. Stumbling out, he looked up to stare at the moon. A strange shadow passed through the beams shining between the clouds, sending a chill down his spine—but for the moment, it was time to feel bad for himself.

He was going to be sick. Part of it was the alcohol, but constantly accepting failure at the invisible hands of a man who wasn’t even there anymore made his stomach turn. Nonomiya leant against a wall, sliding down to the ground. He just needed a second for the world to stop spinning around him, and he would walk home.

“You’re going to catch a cold sitting out here.”

His vision swam as he jerked his head up to see who could possibly be talking to him—can’t a man sit on the street and wallow in self-pity in peace?—and Nonomiya was met with a vaguely familiar silvery-white halo of hair. Not that of Reo’s, but of the other man who had lingered behind that day to eye Nonomiya and Kota, flashing his fangs—hmm? Fangs?

There was no time to consider why this bothered him, as Nonomiya soon found himself easily being picked up off the sidewalk and carried back to his apartment. If he wasn’t already queasy before, he definitely was now— _ humans really aren’t built for flying _ , he thought, before subsequently wondering  _ what the fuck? _

“I can just leave you at the entrance to your building,” said the man, but Nonomiya shook his head.

“My balcony’s, uhh...that one.” He waved at one of the units, hoping he’d forgotten again to lock the door leading in. The cold air rushed past as this tiny, tiny man impossibly made his way up, carrying Nonomiya’s poor spindly body the entire time. The wind whipping around him should have been enough to convince Nonomiya that he was awake—but there was just no believing it for him. He was going to wake up, in bed, and all of this was going to be a dream.

Silent as the grave, the man landed at Nonomiya’s balcony. “This is enough, now, is it not?”

“Just...drop me in there. On the floor is fine, I can make it to my mattress, probably.”

“...you’re going to let me, a stranger, into your home?” A note of incredulity rose in his voice.

It was just a dream, so anything he did wouldn’t have any consequences, right? “Yeah. I’m really going through it, so if you don’t mind.”

“So I can come in.”

Nonomiya wanted to lie down and go to sleep already—as much as he believed he already was asleep. “Yes.”

A laugh escaped the man, quiet and low, and somehow that was the only time Nonomiya felt genuinely threatened. But in spite of his worries, he found himself being carried in and gently laid on the bed. As the balcony door clicked shut, Nonomiya drifted off to dream.

* * *

When Nonomiya woke up, just as he thought, he’d be nursing a terrible headache for a while. He’d never learned his lesson about drinking his suffering away on weekdays, and now he was facing the consequences of his actions. What he wasn’t expecting, however, was the pale-haired man from his hallucination the previous night, now slurping from a blood bag as if it were a juice pack as he rifled through Nonomiya’s belongings.

“What the—”

“Oh, good morning.”

“Don’t ‘good morning’ me! Who are you and why are you in my apartment?” Nonomiya all but rolled across the floor to get away from the man, who simply smiled back.

“Have you forgotten already?” he asked, licking off blood from concerningly pointed teeth. “I took you up here when I found you. Were it not for my infinite kindness, you might have spent the night in an alleyway.”

The man took another sip. “Did you know...vampires can only enter someone’s home if invited? Which you did. I’ve simply been making myself comfortable in the meantime.”

Wait...vampire? The man began to laugh as Nonomiya clutched blindly at his neck, checking for wounds.

“Now, now. Can’t you see I already have a meal here with me? I’ve not made a single scratch on you.”

Every second they spent talking was only making the pounding in Nonomiya’s head worse. “Okay. I have to get ready for work, so I’m gonna go shower. You...you’re not real, so you better be gone by the time I get out.”

Receiving only a cryptic smile as a reply left Nonomiya entirely unsurprised when the man did not disappear from his room on his return. “...I give up. Just stop going through my stuff and get out of here before I get home.”

“Do take care at work,” the man said, languidly waving a gloved hand.

“Go to hell.”

* * *

Several cups of coffee later, Nonomiya began to feel alive again.

“He~y, Nono.” His coworker, Nishida, slid in beside him at the pantry. “How’d your date with Seo last night go?”

“It wasn’t a date,” he replied, teaspoon loudly clanking against the sides of his mug. “We were just having a drink. The usual.”

“Ah, yes. Because you’re too chicken to tell him how you feel.” Nishida grinned, leaning against the counter.

Nonomiya definitely hadn’t had enough coffee yet for this conversation. “Shut up,” he hissed.

“Nono…” Nishida threw an arm over Nonomiya’s shoulder. “We’re friends, right? Let me tell you. You know Seo’s dense. He probably wouldn’t realise someone liked him if they came up and bit him in the face. It’s been three years since he started working here, and I’m pretty sure everyone else in this office has noticed your miserable pining except for him.”

For a moment, Nonomiya said nothing, holding the cup to mimic the warmth of his hands being held. “...you’re such a know-it-all. Just cause you have a boyfriend.” Allegedly.

“A prince, too,” said Nishida, green eyes fluttering as he proudly put a hand to his chest.

“You ever gonna show him to us?”

“No.”

Freeing himself from Nishida’s arm, Nonomiya sighed. “He’s...still getting over his roommate, stray, whatever the hell they were. I don’t want to be the sad rebound off that.”

“Fair enough, I guess.” Nishida shook his head, walking back to his desk. “I’m tellin’ ya, you’re not gonna get anywhere if you don’t make a move, though!”

He’s right, thought Nonomiya. But what other choice did he have but to wait?

* * *

“Welcome home,” said the voice of the vampire waiting in the shadows of Nonomiya’s apartment.

“You’re still here?”

Nonomiya kicked off his shoes, turning on the lights to see the man politely sitting at the table, boots propped up out on the balcony.

“Are you going to try and kick me out again?” He calmly turned the page of a magazine he’d somehow been reading in the dark. “I couldn’t possibly leave until nightfall, since...you know.” Here he gestured to his face, baring the fangs again. “I’ve had to entertain myself in the meantime. You seem to have an awful lot of these...actor magazines with ridiculous late-night dramas on the covers.”

“I...they’re popular so of course they’re on the covers. I get those for the more obscure interviews inside—” Great job. Excellent save, Nonomiya. He wasn’t sure what was worse: that, or the fact that he’d started watching them ironically—he joked  _ one _ time that Kota looked as if he could be the protagonist of a cheesy drama and accidentally got invested.

“And...I can’t be bothered right now. If you were going to kill me, you would’ve already, right?”

“Correct.”

“To think I told Seo off for letting some rando off the street into his house,” Nonomiya muttered as he went up to the fridge. “Hey. You drink? Aside from…”

“Aside from blood?” There’s another low laugh, and once again, Nonomiya could feel the mistakes piling up behind him. “I do, though it doesn’t do much.”

Taking a seat across the table, Nonomiya slid a can of beer over to the man, who gratefully accepted. “So...what do I...call you.”

“Franz.”

“Mm. I’m Nonomiya.”

Franz extended a hand. “Pleased to properly make your acquaintance, Nonomiya.”

Nonomiya hesitated before shaking Franz’s hand. “...Likewise.”

The two of them sat in silence for a while, Franz quietly taking sips as Nonomiya continued to look him over. Eventually, he spoke up once more. “I hate to jump ahead to this, but...you know that Reo guy, right?”

“...know him…?” Franz made an amused huff over the edge of the can. “You could say that.”

Despite sensing he would only get more cryptic answers, Nonomiya continued. "...Well, what's so great about him anyway? Seo seems so hung up on him and it's been like, a week."

"Aside from the fact that he's a pure, innocent existence, marred only by the cruelty of man to our kind? And that he's an unparalleled beauty, who feels as if he should not be here alongside mere ordinary folk? And...that he can cook? While you’re here with your growing collection of empty cups of instant noodles?"

"Okay, enough. I get it. Geez, you’re just as in love with him as Seo is, huh.”

Glancing up at Nonomiya, a single bright green eye piercing through him, Franz gave him a strange look. “Hmm. You and I are kindred spirits, in a way. I might as well tell you.”

“What’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

The can crinkled in Nonomiya’s hand as he saw the fangs come out again. “Oh, please. Don’t act so innocent. I’ve seen you but once before, and I already know.

“You, walking home with that Kota fellow. How you never once lift your gaze from him, the way you walk ever so slightly too close in the hopes of—” Franz brushed the backs of his hands together, snickering. “You must watch too many of those dramas.”

“What’s your point.” Nonomiya could feel his ears starting to burn.

Franz rolled his eye. “The point is, I understand how you feel. You’ve given him everything, and yet he won’t spare you a single glance. He’s taken your heart, and in return, the hollow cavity in your chest aches for the space to be filled.”

It might be a little too intense for his taste, but Nonomiya can’t completely disagree. “Is that what he...what Reo is to you?”

“It was a very long time ago...long before you were born—”

_ —Franz is about to freeze to death. _

_ Even a vampire isn’t immune to the forces of nature, and cold as he already may be, turning to ice wouldn’t be a pleasant experience. _

_ As he thinks all hope is lost, some kind soul takes him in, warms him up. _

_ To his dazed, frostbitten mind, it’s an angel. _

"Reo was the most beautiful human I'd ever seen. Were he one now, he still would be." Franz took a sip, pensively turning the can in his hand. "He took me in from the cold, gave me shelter, as that coworker of yours must have done for him. If any love remains in this still heart of mine, it belongs to him alone."

_ The days Franz spends with Reo are the closest he's ever come to feeling peace. _

_ There is no guilt in his mind as he drinks from Reo's perfect exposed neck in the night. He knows Reo is kind enough to forgive what he must already suspect. _

_ But as those blissful times creep by, so too does a feeling of loneliness. Every smile, every touch, a reminder that someday Reo would leave him too, whether either of them wanted it or not—after all, he is only human. _

_ So Franz takes things into his own hands. _

_ No one since has tasted as sweet. _

“Sadly, he doesn’t recall any of our shared history, or perhaps he’s choosing not to.” Sighing, Franz finished off the rest of the can.

"...How long have you two been like this?"

"About a century now, if memory serves."

Nonomiya couldn't believe it. "A hundred years?"

"Well, how long have you been at it?"

He took a moment to consider it—he knew exactly how long ago it was since he'd first seen Kota and resigned himself to pining miserably, but voicing it would take some effort. "I don't know, like three?"

"I see." Franz hummed. "I suppose the only difference is that your kind doesn't live quite as long."

Nonomiya turned the response over in his head, nodding wordlessly. After a moment, Franz stood up, shaking out his cloak. "Now, the sun has set, allowing me to return home without issue. I'm very grateful for your hospitality."

"...no problem." Some problems, perhaps, but he wasn't about to say that. Before Franz could leave, Nonomiya called out. "Come by again if you want."

Franz gave him a smile, this one not quite as threatening as the one from the night before. "Perhaps I shall. Until then, Nonomiya."

* * *

Keeping to his word, Franz would occasionally drop in—quite literally, as he would jump from the roof to Nonomiya's balcony—to keep him company. And Nonomiya appreciated it—as much as he got along with both people at work and outside of it, there just wasn't anyone he'd be able to talk to about his current troubles without leaving out too many details or sounding completely insane.

Though he would hate to admit it, they understood each other.

His struggles with Kota, on the other hand, weren’t going away any time soon.

“...Sorry, Nonomiya.” Kota sighed, dragging his feet in spite of the workday's end. "I don't think I'm up for anything today."

"Oh. That's alright." Like a dog waiting for its master to come home, only to be turned away, Nonomiya couldn't help but hang his head a little. "Can I at least walk you home? You still look pretty out of it."

A tired smile gracing his lips, Kota nodded, to Nonomiya's relief.

The walk home was mostly Nonomiya filling the space in the empty air with anything that came to mind, anything that could make the cloud hovering over Kota a little lighter. Even if his responses weren't much, it was enough for Nonomiya thinking that he might've given Kota at least a moment's distraction from his thoughts.

As they walked, the shadows seemed to dart about, following in their footsteps, watching over their conversation. When Nonomiya managed to tear his eyes from Kota, he could only just see—between the streetlights, an unfamiliar outline he recognised—

...And before he could understand just what he had seen, it vanished.

* * *

"Say, we only ever meet in my apartment. Don't you live somewhere?" Not that Nonomiya actually minded. Though he figured Franz had the bare minimum of decency not to murder him in his own home, if the two of them were to ever go to Franz's house instead, the field would definitely shift in the vampire's favour.

"Oh, I do. I live in an old-fashioned castle on the outskirts of the city, covered in cobwebs and Halloween decorations, and I sleep in a coffin.” Franz paused, bursting into laughter as Nonomiya narrowed his eyes at him. “No, I have a perfectly normal place a few blocks away. You’d be surprised how many supposed creatures of the night and our overzealous counterparts live in regular buildings. Why, you had a vampire hunter living just down the hall.”

“I...wait, there was what?”

“Not any more, of course. That fellow is long gone, so you don’t need to worry.” Nonomiya was in fact, worried, if not for knife fights in the hallway, then for one of his neighbours going missing and never being seen again. “People like him don’t truly exist, at least not with the identities you think they have. After all, if they’re spotted committing a murder, they can’t exactly justify it with ‘but they were an awful blood-sucking vampire!’ to the general public.”

Nonomiya would likely never understand the difference in how vampires and humans viewed each other, but that wasn’t of much concern to him. It wasn’t his world to question, but one he’d been pulled into by association.

“Franz…” And being an outsider, there’s some information he couldn’t keep to himself. “I saw Reo.”

All of Franz’s attention was on Nonomiya. “Have you, now? Are you sure it was him?”

“I haven’t said anything til now cause I thought I was imagining it, but...I definitely saw him. Pretty difficult to miss a guy like that.”

Nonomiya hesitated. Returning Reo to Franz might appear to be setting nature back in order, but he couldn’t honestly say that was his priority. However, it was too late for him to start backpedaling, judging from how Franz’s eye was burning into his head. “He was outside Seo's building."

"Difficult to miss, you say. Has that unfortunate crush of yours taken notice of him, then?"

Sighing, Nonomiya shook his head. "He hasn't...really been paying attention to much. If he's seen Reo, I think I'd know."

"Hm. I suppose I shall take your word for it. Thank you for your help, Nonomiya. Do stop by if ever you need me." Taking a card from his vest and placing it on the table, Franz took his usual unnecessarily dramatic exit out the window.

On the card was an address, with a little portrait of a bat printed on the other side—the whole thing brought up so many questions, such as  _ did he get these made? _ and  _ why is a vampire handing out business cards in the first place? _ but he was already gone, leaving Nonomiya to wonder if he made the right decision.

* * *

_ “...H...help...someone…” _

_ Reo breathes, pained. He should’ve expected one of those vampire hunters would eventually find him if he kept hanging around Kota’s apartment, but he couldn’t resist coming back just to check, and now he was paying the price. _

_ He hears footsteps, and braces himself for the inevitable stake to the heart— _

_ “...Oh, you poor dear thing.” _

_ —but instead, an entirely different pain blooms in his chest. _

* * *

“Nono, you’re giving up just like that?” Nishida frowned, leaning over Nonomiya’s shoulder. “It’s okay. Plenty of fish in the sea, I guess.”

“I’m not...giving up,” said Nonomiya. From where they were standing, he could see Kota staring sadly out the window again. “If Seo-chan needs some space, I’ll give it to him!” He was making his best attempt to regain his old chipper tone, but Nishida wasn’t convinced.

“He probably still needs a friend too. Y’know, someone to talk to.”

“...I know.”

After a few more words of encouragement from Nishida along the lines of  _ you can do it buddy! I believe in you!  _ and the like, Nonomiya was off on his usual routine. Walk the same way home together, get something to eat even if it’s just from the convenience store, listen patiently if Kota has anything to say. He usually doesn’t, but that evening Nonomiya decided it was his turn to get some answers.

“Seo, mind if I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

Slowing down as they walked, slightly relieved that Kota matched his pace, Nonomiya asked, “What really happened? With you and...that man you picked up off the street, I mean.”

Kota stopped walking entirely, deep in thought. Nonomiya stopped as well, painfully aware of the distance between them as he gave Kota the time to figure out what he wanted to say. After just long enough to worry Nonomiya, Kota began to explain—clearly leaving out certain parts, but it was a tragic story nonetheless: an office worker who took a man into his home, becoming closer until they were torn apart by circumstance and the cruelty of humanity.

"Why'd he have to leave you?" said Nonomiya, though he already knew the answer.

"It's...complicated. Didn’t want me to be in danger, I guess.” His mouth curved up, the smile not meeting his eyes. “I don’t think you’d believe me even if I told you everything.”

Nonomiya reached into his pocket, running his fingers along the calling card’s edge. “You never know,” he said. As Kota gave him a quizzical look, Nonomiya shook his head. “...but you still want to go after him, don’t you.”

Kota simply nodded, crumpling Nonomiya’s poor heart like paper. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already suspected, but getting it directly from the source was more discouraging than he thought it’d be. “...I think I can help.” Nonomiya took out the card, handing it over. “He might be here. Don’t go in the day, though.”

“Nonomiya…?”

“I...I wasn’t trying to keep it from you or anything. Honestly, it’s probably pretty dumb of me to help you find him, but…” Nonomiya sighed. Gently regarding Kota, he smiled. “I know you’re never going to look at me the way you looked at him. But I still care about you, and if he can make you happy, then...I’ll do what I can.”

Gaze drifting away, he added, “Just...don’t die. I’ll kill you myself if you do.” Laughing nervously, Nonomiya fell back on his old friend: joking to shrug off any genuine feelings he might’ve had. But when he turned to see Kota smiling back at him, he could barely manage not to melt into a puddle on the spot.

“Nonomiya, thank you.” It was the softest he’d ever heard Kota say his name. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

A moment of hesitation, and Nonomiya shooed him off to go ahead. Kota would need the time to get ready, and Nonomiya could walk home on his own.

* * *

The next day was a weekend, but Nonomiya couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it—checking every few minutes if Kota had sent him any messages, pacing his kitchen to keep from running to Kota’s apartment. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous. After all, he reasoned to himself, Kota had gone in the middle of the night, when Franz was sure to be out on the prowl. At least, that was what he had to tell himself to feel better. It wasn’t working.

Especially not when Franz started tapping aggressively at his window until he was let in.

“Nonomiya. What the  _ hell _ do you think you’re playing at?” A gloved finger jabbed at Nonomiya’s chest. Franz’s fangs were bared, a sinister curl on his lips. “Do believe me, I’m very proud of you for overcoming your apparent communication issues and inability to express your feelings, but that doesn’t mean you should be getting in my way instead.”

With every sentence, Franz stepped closer, sending Nonomiya stumbling backwards. “W-what are you talking about?”

“Don’t act as if you don’t know what you’ve done. Congratulations to you! You’ve accepted that you’ll never amount to as much as Reo does in  _ his _ eyes. But that's no reason to inflict that man upon me."

Franz's voice was freezing Nonomiya's blood in his veins. "Did you—? Is Seo—?! You better not have hurt him—!" Doing an excellent job of tripping over his own words as well as his feet, Nonomiya clenched his fists in the hopes of steadying his shaking hands.

"Oh, you are so lucky. I know that if Reo were ever to find out I'd hurt a single hair on that Kota's precious empty head, he would fly from my arms without a second thought, never to be seen again. No, I've not harmed him. I sent him away unscathed, since he would never have arrived at my home were it not for your interference!" Franz spat. "Here I thought we might have had an understanding." His eye shone brightly, his glare enough to burn Nonomiya where he stood.

There, something snapped in Nonomiya's mind. "...You know what, Franz? Maybe you were wrong. Maybe we're too different. At least I know when to give up. It's been a hundred years. If he doesn't love you yet, he probably never will, so you should learn to take a hint!" By the end of his outburst, Nonomiya was trembling like a leaf.

For a moment, the room was silent but for the sound of their breathing.

Franz stared up at Nonomiya, seething. “How...dare you. You know nothing about us. Reo and I are a part of one another—inextricably linked from the moment I was the one to turn him. I refuse to take this disrespect from a mere child, conscious for barely a fraction of the time I’ve been alive!”

“Don’t, then.” Nonomiya leaned closer, stepping forward in an attempt to edge Franz back to the balcony. He was likely going to regret that spike in confidence later—already, his mind was racing to remember methods of repelling vampires that were readily available—but until then, he was going to stand his ground. “Get out of here and don’t come back. After all, it’s getting late. Reo might run away if you’re gone any longer.”

There was another pause, broken by the sharp sound of Franz’s laughter. “So that’s how it’s going to be. I take my leave for the moment, Nonomiya, but you had better remember to lock up well once night falls.” Franz walked out, not breaking eye contact until he dropped from the balcony, leaving Nonomiya to run to lock his doors. Once he’d done that, he collapsed onto his bed, breathing heavily.

He supposed his “normal life” was over the second he let a vampire into his home—perhaps even from the moment the man he fell for took one under his wing—but what he was willing to go through for love was starting to shock even himself.

Phone nearly slipping from his hands from a combination of sweat and trembling fingers, Nonomiya called Kota up. He had to try a few times before Kota picked up, worry constricting further around his heart with each successive attempt.

“Nonomiya?”

“Oh, thank god. Seo? Are you okay?” His voice was shaking as much as his hands.

"I'm...I'm alright." Kota paused. "The man living at that apartment sent me home, but...he and Reo know each other, I'm sure of it."

"Ah, about him. Seo, I don't think it's a good idea to go after him any more. That guy, he might be dangerous."  _ Might be _ , as if Franz hadn't just threatened him a few minutes earlier.

"He probably knows more about where Reo is than he's letting on, Nonomiya. That's why you gave me the address, right?" The current of hope in Kota's voice was the brightest Nonomiya had heard him in weeks. "I really can't thank you enough for your support, but I'm going to do this."

"Seo, wait—"

But Kota had already hung up, Nonomiya's phone dropping from his hand.

* * *

Over the next few days, Nonomiya could feel every shadow in the night creeping closer towards him whenever he left the house, and fear clutching at his chest whenever he would look at Kota's empty desk.

"Hey, Nishida? Has Seo come in yet?"

Nishida gave him an apologetic smile. "...Nono...he quit."

"...Ah." The lengths to which that man would go for love truly should not be underestimated. "Didn't think he'd up and do it so soon."

"It's alright, Nono! You'll find someone new!" Completely oblivious, Nishida cheerfully began trying to lift Nonomiya's spirits, chattering pleasantly with him for the rest of the day.

Until the time came for Nonomiya to walk out once more into the night, not sure if the gaze he could feel on his back was paranoia or his oncoming death.

With every step he took, another echoed in the darkness.

When he reached his apartment building, he stopped. "You know, if you were going to kill me, you could've done it at literally any time before now."

"...Glad you're aware." Franz replied from the shadows.

Nonomiya sighed, turning back to look at him. "Do you want to come up?"

Only just visible past the harsh lamplights, Franz nodded.

Walking up the stairs with a vampire in tow only added to Nonomiya’s growing feeling of his life falling to pieces—though perhaps he wasn’t alone in this, since every glance at Franz showed a strangely mournful expression on the vampire’s face.

Franz stopped at Nonomiya’s door.

Though Nonomiya considered walking in and simply closing the door on him, he waved Franz in with a quiet mutter of approval.

Like the first time they started talking, Franz politely took off his shoes before coming in to sit on the floor, hands clasped on his lap, Nonomiya laid out a couple cans—just tea for the moment—before sitting opposite him, legs crossed.

“So.” Nonomiya tapped his fingers on the table.

“...Yes.” Franz sighed, closing his eyes. “I wanted to apologise to you. I know you weren’t trying to spite me. If anything, you were right.”

“I...no, I said too much. I mean, I  _ don’t _ know anything about you two.”

Smiling wistfully, Franz looked up at Nonomiya. “Reo found out I’d kept Kota from him after all. Were he not still recovering from another run-in with that accursed vampire hunter, he would have surely left me by now.”

Nonomiya cautiously edged closer to give Franz an awkward pat on the shoulder, relieved when he made no attempt to move away—or worse.

“Mm. At the very least, you were able to express how you felt, while I…” The smile faded from Franz’s face, brows drawing together. “...I wonder, had I not stolen the choice from Reo, would he have been satisfied living out the remainder of his days as an ordinary human?”

“Reo probably gets that you care about him, you know? And if you feel sorry about that...then…tell him?” Nonomiya half-shrugged, his instinct for giving unsolicited advice kicking in at last.

“I suppose.”

“And hey, you live forever, right? You’ll find someone who likes you just as much eventually.” Not something he could say for sure, but as it brought out a smile from Franz, he considered it a temporary victory.

“Not quite forever, but...perhaps that is true. And the same could be said for you, someday.” 

“Jeez, you’re not even the first person to tell me that today.” A weak chuckle escaped Nonomiya. “Besides, I don’t think I would’ve had a chance with Seo even if we hadn’t fallen into this whole...stupid vampire romance novel.”

Franz laughed, shaking his head. “No, no. If we were in one of those, it would end with the two of us together on the sole basis of being a vampire and a human.”

“...Wait, you’re right. I didn’t even notice.” They would be the perfect counterpart to Reo and Kota’s tragic longing, the side characters shuffled together after realising their feelings were one-sided and always would be. “I guess we...aren’t, then?”

“Indeed...not.” Their respective hesitation left hanging in the air, Franz laid a gloved hand on Nonomiya’s, giving it a comforting pat. “So don’t give up hope, Nonomiya.”

“Yeah. You too.”

Cold as that hand was, it managed to warm him up. Franz’s smile was softer than ever before, and as Nonomiya returned it with his own—as their hands seemed to fit together, as if only then realising how little distance there was between them—like some self-fulfilling prophecy, the two of them slowly leaned closer.

The lack of actual breath on Franz’s part was unsettling, as was the prospect of any scrapes from too-pointy teeth, but Nonomiya screwed his eyes shut and gave in.

Cold.

Horribly cold.

In theory, kissing a vampire might be attractive to some, but in practice? Nonomiya felt as if he’d pressed his mouth to an ice cube. He could feel Franz’s other hand rather hesitantly attempting to run its fingers through his hair, only to be disappointed when he was met with the uneven strands of whatever the hell was going on with Nonomiya’s hairstyle.

“I...was not expecting that, from you,” said Franz as they parted, hand still hovering over Nonomiya’s head.

Nonomiya blinked, nodding slowly. “Me neither, actually.”

“Would you like to...do it again?”

A pause. “No.”

They pulled back.

“Thank goodness, neither did I.” Franz sighed. “You’re not exactly my type. No offense.”

“None taken,” said Nonomiya with an apologetic smile. “You're not mine, either. That was probably something like how it'd feel to kiss a dead person."

Franz gave him a sidelong glance, beginning to laugh. “Should  _ I _ be taking offense to that? I jest, of course.”

“We’re...friends, then, I guess?” Nonomiya turned his hand over to clasp Franz’s that had, through all that, stayed on top of his own, and received a soft squeeze in return.

“Friends…” Quiet and thoughtful, Franz nodded. “I would like that very much.”

“I believe I may know a way to make it up to you both.” He stood, somewhat reluctantly letting go. “Find Kota and come see me.”

* * *

Luckily for Nonomiya, Kota responded at the first mention of Franz’s offer. He hadn’t left his apartment yet after all, and so they set off together.

“Will you be okay coming along?” asked Kota. “You seemed pretty panicked before.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about me.” Nonomiya sidled up to Franz’s door, knocking lightly. “I mean that. If I’m wrong, you run.”

Before Kota could question his response, Franz opened the door. “Ah, Nonomiya, Kota. Glad the two of you could make it. My apologies for the last time you were here. I’ve had some sense talked into me now, however, so there’s no cause for concern...This is only what you deserve.”

Franz stepped back, letting them in to reveal—

“Reo!”

Kota ran to Reo resting on the sofa, the two of them wrapping their arms around each other. “Kota...you shouldn’t have come to find me,” murmured Reo.

“How could I not?”

As they wept and kissed each other, Nonomiya and Franz looked on.

“You really okay with this?” said Nonomiya.

“...Are  _ you _ ?” said Franz.

Both questions were left unanswered.

“Now what, though? You can’t come with me, it’s too dangerous.” So said Reo, and yet he still refused to let go of Kota.

Nonomiya coughed. “If I can say something...it’s probably better for Seo to go with you. He’ll follow you no matter what, I think, so it’d be safer for the two of you to be together than for him to chase after you alone.”

“Oh…!” Eyelashes fluttering, Reo clutched Kota tighter, wincing slightly from his wounds. “I...I don’t know if I can protect us both. Look at me...I couldn’t even defend myself.”

“I’ll figure something out, I promise.” Kota did his best to sound reassuring, but Reo shook his head.

“You’re still only human, Kota, you...if you get hurt because of me, I…”

Quietly, Franz raised a hand. “I may have a solution—not  _ that _ one,” he said, in response to a cloud passing over Reo’s beautiful face. “You know that I am always willing to defend you, with my life if necessary. I have no issue in extending that to dear Kota, and maintaining my usual distance. But only if you will permit it, Reo. It is your decision. As it should be.”

“Franz…” Reo sat up, slipping his arms away from Kota—to the latter’s disappointment, but he understood he needed to step back. “Come here.” When Franz arrived at his side, Reo pulled him in close. “...There was always going to be a place in my heart for you.”

With an expression of complete disbelief, Franz buried his face in Reo’s shoulder as Reo simply held him. “If you’d just told me what you really were all those years ago, I think I would’ve understood. You were afraid of losing me...you did what you thought would’ve been the best for us.”

“I was being selfish, little one.” Muffled as it was, Franz’s voice was clearly beginning to shake.

“Maybe, but I know how it feels now.” Reo stroked his hair, sighing softly. “You’re...you’re really okay with Kota?”

“The two of you seem good with one another. And...” Franz looked up, a pitiful pout on his lips. “...Are you happy?”

“...I think so.”

“That’s enough for me.”

Turning back to Kota, a touch nervous, Reo appeared almost apologetic. “Would it be alright with you? Franz, he’s...a part of me too.”

“Hey, what he said.” Kota shrugged, offering Reo a comforting smile. “If you’ll be happy.”

Still standing by the doorway, Nonomiya began to feel more and more out of place. He had served his purpose here, and the three of them could manage well enough, couldn’t they? As he made to leave, Kota stood, walking over to him.

“Nonomiya? Are you going?”

“My work here is done.” Nonomiya grinned, the distance between them cutting into his heart. “I should...leave you guys to it.”

Kota scratched his head, the fact that he was struggling to come up with the words written all over his face. "Look, this is just me being selfish now, too, but...I haven't given you enough credit for all you've done for me. As long as we've known each other, you've been there for me when I needed someone, and…I don't think it'd feel right without you."

"Seo? What are you saying…"

"I'm saying—" and here, with the lightest of touches, Kota held Nonomiya's hand— "Come with us."

"Come with you?" Now it was Nonomiya's turn to be shocked. "You...you want me to abandon my regular, ordinary life, and the boring office job I probably won't be able to stand once you're gone, to run away with you?"

Nonomiya liked to act as if he would always make sound decisions and follow logic. But sometimes the heart wants what it wants.

"...Where are we going?"

Kota held on to his hand a little tighter, Nonomiya squeezing back tightly in turn. "Anywhere."

* * *

The office returns to unbothered normalcy soon after Nonomiya and Kota's disappearance.

Nishida laments the loss of a friend, but sometimes, looking out at the shadows under the moon, he can feel that the two of them are going to be fine as they are.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading here, and if you bought encore zine thank you so much!!! everything in it was really good and i'm really happy to have participated in it...i love play characters so much and the fact that it did so well makes me glad. i especially love noct, my favourite winter play (despite my number of mystery fics and my handles) so getting to write this was so great jjfsdjfdshj
> 
> as always, i'm at esnoyuuutsu on twitter!


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